COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Disputed call hurts Penn State in loss to Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. — And so it was on a day that featured so many subplots and discussion points, that a fumble on the goal line with a TV review would be all that everyone wanted to talk about.

It was understandable, considering how the big picture here made that one pitch-and-catch gone awry even more critical.

The pregame setting had the Nittany Lions pushing for more national credibility in their feel-good recovery season, playing another nationally-ranked opponent.

They were going for an impressive road-game sweep in the Big Ten.

Meanwhile, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were trying to keep their undefeated run at home alive while clearing their way to the Big Ten title game.

And as things wore one here, the Huskers also were in position to try and pull off yet another stunning, second-half comeback.

That’s how it was on a ridiculously warm afternoon with crazy wind gusts, a display full of turnovers and scintillating runs and grand momentum swings and battered bodies trying to hang in and pull together.

It all led to the second-down play three yards from the goal line, Penn State primed to grab back the lead with less than eight minutes to play…

That’s all everyone kept talking about after the Lions’ bitter, 32-23 defeat before a sold-out 85,527 in Memorial Stadium.

It went like this:Matt McGloin threw the swing pass to tight end Matt Lehman from an empty backfield set. Lehman caught, turned and began charging his 258 pounds toward the goal line. And just as he appeared to reach the ball over the line, it was knocked free and into the end zone. A Nebraska defender fell on it.

But did the ball break the goal plane before Lehman lost it?

TV replays showed that it may have. TV announcers confirmed that it did, in their opinion.

However, after a quick replay review, the ruling on the field was confirmed. Nebraska got the ball, protected its four-point cushion and pounded away the rest of the game on offense and defense.

When asked about the play afterwards, coach Bill O’Brien paused before answering.

“We thought it was over the goal line. (Replay officials) just felt like they couldn’t reverse it. … Just didn’t have enough evidence to reverse it.”

As for an official explanation, referee John O’Neill gave this statement to reporters:

“The ruling on the field was that it was a fumble short of the goal line. It went to replay and the replay official said the play stood based on the views he had. It’s ultimately his decision.”

And then a debate of sorts began.

Penn State players admitted that they should have never put themselves in a position where a fourth-quarter fumble and one controversial play decides the outcome. Some waffled on their feelings on the call while speaking publicly.

And yet fiery quarterback Matt McGloin did not hold back.

“We’re not going to get that call here, we’re not going to get that call ever, actually, against any team,” McGloin said. “It doesn’t matter who the refs are, we’re never going to get that call. Why do you think it is? That’s just the way it is, man. ... It’s the mentality we have. It’s us against the world, and we’re not going to get those calls in these types of games.”

How did he and his teammates respond after that turn of events?

The Penn State defense held twice and yet Nebraska inexplicably pinned the Lions against their own goal line with a 69-yard punt.

Their final efforts on offense resulted in a Nebraska safety and three incomplete passes.

“We were prepared for (the fumble call),” McGloin said. “We knew we were not going to get any help whatsoever throughout the course of the game. We fought hard until the end, we just couldn’t finish it.”

Plus, the fumble happened on a unique play call. Zach Zwinak, a bull of a tailback, was in the middle of a 141-yard rushing performance, plowing through the Cornhusker defense, sometimes with ease.

He had just bulldozed to the Husker 3-yard line.

Instead of going to another Zwinak run, they chose the pass, a successful play O’Brien said he pulled from his days running the New England Patriots’ offense.

It seemed simple enough. Penn State practiced the new play several times this past week and got the defensive look they wanted from Nebraska -- defenders cheating inside to stop the run.

Of course, O’Brien and his players also know how these things work, though, in a larger sense.

Zwinak had fumbled away another scoring chance near the goal line in the first quarter.

The Cornhuskers also fumbled away the ball twice, once in the end zone.

“I think there was a lot more to it than (the Lehman fumble),” said receiver Allen Robinson, when asked about the defeat, especially about giving up a 14-point halftime lead.

“You can’t say that lost the game. We just got off to a real slow start in the third quarter and our defense stayed on the field a lot.

“This is a game we definitely should have won.”

And it could be argued that the Lions did enough positive things to make that happen. Certainly, at least they gave another impressive effort from an energy and guts standpoint.

Tight end Kyle Carter came back with a sprained ankle until he was forced to leave with a wrist injury from a hard shot in the end zone.

Star defensive tackle Jordan Hill somehow played after spraining his knee just last week and made five tackles.

Zwinak? He left the field with cramps, received intravenous fluids in the locker room and returned to action.

“These are good kids,” O’Brien said. “We just have to get back to work on Monday, and these guys will, they will go back to work.”

So, in the end, no matter how it happened, or who was to blame, a fourth tough loss in the most difficult of years, is still one loss.

“Losing is a terrible feeling, miserable,” O’Brien said. “It’s like a part of you dies.”

And yet he know it has not.His team still has two home games to play in a season already void of a Big Ten title appearance or a bowl game.